Manufactured liquid nutritional compositions, also commonly referred to as nutritional liquids, comprising a targeted selection of nutrition ingredients are well known and widely available, some of which may provide a sole source of nutrition while others may provide a supplemental source. These nutritional liquids include powders that can be reconstituted with water or other aqueous liquid, as well as concentrated liquids and ready to drink nutritional liquids such as milk or protein based emulsions or non-emulsified or substantially clear liquids for use in infant and pediatric formulas and medical and adult nutritionals.
Traditionally, native starches have been included in food applications, and particularly in liquid nutritional emulsions and other liquids, for their ability to stabilize emulsions and suspensions, increase viscosity, reduce sedimentation, form film networks, and gelatinize. More particularly, these desired gelatinization and stable network formation abilities of natural starches occur with heat after starch granules are fully hydrated. Gelatinized starch molecules, however, also tend to re-associate over time, squeezing water out and causing recrystallization (also referred to herein as retrogradation). The retrogradation effect is a result of starch chains forming ordered chain structures that result in chain aggregation, which is revealed as phase separation in liquid nutritionals.
The retrogradation tendency of starches limits their functionality in food applications as it shortens the resulting shelf life of the product. Retrogradation may be further exaggerated with temperature fluctuations similar to those seen in process conditions during the manufacturing and sterilization of nutritional liquids.
To combat the undesired retrogradation effect, many native starches are chemically modified to reduce chain formation in liquid nutritionals as described above. Although this approach has had some success, such chemical modification may present issues with multiple regulatory bodies around the world that do not generally approve of the use of chemically modified starches in nutritional liquids, and particularly in infant nutritional liquids.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for alternative stabilizer systems that can provide improved emulsion stabilization and reduced precipitation without the drawbacks of retrogradation and reassociation. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the stabilizer system was carrageenan-free as such stabilizer systems including carrageenan are not universally accepted from a regulatory standpoint around the world.
The present disclosure is directed to nutritional compositions, particularly in the form of liquid nutritional compositions comprising starch. The stabilizer system may comprise starch, more particularly waxy starch, more particularly, a native waxy starch such as a native hybrid waxy potato starch. In addition, or in the alternative, the stabilizer system may be a dual stabilizer system including a starch and maltotriose. These nutritional compositions provide improved stability, longer shelf life, and are universally label friendly from a regulatory standpoint.